


Stelle Gemelle

by nbkb65



Series: Stelle Gemelle [1]
Category: Impractical Jokers
Genre: F/M, First Person, Fluff, Impractical, Joe - Freeform, Jokers, M/F, Romance, f/m - Freeform, gatto, tenderloins - Freeform, trutv
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-31 15:55:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20117689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nbkb65/pseuds/nbkb65
Summary: On a girls' trip to New York, Nicole stumbles across her male counterpart, Joe. Through making memories in the city that never sleeps, their affections grow stronger, eventually being tested by the miles between them.





	1. Full Cup

“Thank you!” The bouncer handed back my ID with a smile, “Enjoy your night, hun!” The music was lively, and the vibe casual. The band was unfamiliar but catchy. I scanned the room to see guys laughing with their friends, girls relaxed and sipping on their beverages as they mingled with their groups. As I was trying to take the scene in, Karina grabbed me by my wrist and dragged me to the bar. “Two Cadillac margaritas, please!” We both gave each other an understanding smile. Other than a full-bodied red wine, that was the drink me and my bestie lived for. The bartender was talking to a guy a few chairs down while working on the drinks. They kept looking in our direction and smiling. I squinted to get a better look at the other guy. The sudden eye contact with him made my heart stop, and I hid behind Karina. As we were given our drinks, Alex requested, “And one jack and coke for me!” The green-eyed bartender smirked at her and said, “Nice, I love a whiskey girl.” Alex blushed. I could see in her eyes she felt attracted to him, so I motioned my neck to encourage her to talk to him. “Well, you’re going to adore me then. I’m Alex.” He chuckled and extended his hand, “I’m Sal. And who are your friends over here?” He quickly gave a very mischievous look to the friend he was conversing with earlier. Alex introduced us all to Sal.

Sal then discretely waved for his friend to come. The man I had made eye contact with casually made his way towards me with two other guys following behind him. Alex turned to me and whispered, “His friend coming over here seems to be perfect for you. You can tell he’s a bit older.” I blushed and snarked back, “Well, if Sal is friends with him, how old do you think he’s got to be, huh?” Alex broke eye contact awkwardly as I chuckled and said, “Yea that’s what I thought,” with a smirk. As he approached me from the back, I felt a small poke on my left shoulder. I looked up at him to see an evil grin grow across his face as Sal handed him a $10 bill while rolling his eyes. His sparkling blue eyes then met mine. He cleared his throat to break what seemed like a pause in the world around us, “Hi, I’m Joe. These are my friends! Brian, who we call ‘Q’ and James who we call ‘Murr’.” Everyone exchanged greetings, and the conversations seem to branch off into their own mini-groups. Sal and Alex were talking and laughing about God knows what really. Murr and Karina got into a conversation about literature, and Q was drunkenly intrigued by everything they had to say.

“Nicole? Did you hear me?”

“Oh no, sorry. I just keep taking in the surroundings of this bar. It’s so different.”

“It’s alright, darlin’. Sal actually owns it, so the guys and I come here all the time.”

“Oh, he does? That’s so cool!!”

“Yeah! It’s pretty popular among the locals. Do you live around here?”

He took a sip of what looked to be just water as he anticipated the answer. “No, actually my friends and I are from Los Angeles, but we are visiting here. We’ll be here for another week or so. It’s sort of a very late birthday trip for me,” Joe’s eye twinkled as he smiled at me,

“Oh, when was your birthday?”

“June 10th”

“No way! Mine is June 5th!”

“Hell yeah, blue-eyed, Gemini twins!”

“Well, it sounds to me like you’re going to need a tour guide!”

He started telling me about all the spots to hit, a lot of which happened to be mom and pop style shops that sold Italian pastries. “Which one has the best cannolis? Preferably Sicilian style,” I asked him as I started to salivate from the idea of tasting that smooth and creamy filling a Sicilian cannoli never ceased to deliver. Joe blankly stared at me for a good five seconds and then asked, “Where have you been all my life?” I caressed his arm and giggled as he offered, “Maybe I can take you and your girlfriends to my favorite cannoli spot before you leave.” I blushed and replied, “That would be great!”

As the night progressed, I got the chance to talk to everyone a little bit. They all seemed to be a really fun group of guys. Joe surprised me with a fresh margarita as mine had just started to hit the end. “You didn’t have to do that, thank you, Joe!” He smiled and put his arm around me, “Anyone up for a game of Cards Against Humanity?” Everyone agreed to join the game, even Alex. She walked over to me and Joe, and I asked, “You don’t want to keep Sal company?” She blushed and said, “It’s okay, make him miss me for a few minutes. Besides, he said he’d get someone to watch the bar, so he can join us in a bit.” Joe looked at me with a smile and raised his eyebrow, acknowledging that he heard my friend’s comment. As I walked over to a table, I saw Joe place his nose on a total stranger causing Q and Murr to crack up. It clicked in my head, “Is that why I felt a poke on my shoulder earlier?” Joe looked like a deer in headlights as Q and Murr proceeded to laugh even harder. Q drunkenly yelled, “BUSTED!” Joe started chuckling a bit, “Yea, it’s this thing I used to do in high school that carried over. I used to get made fun of for how big my nose was, so I decided to turn it into a joke by laying my nose on a teacher as he walked by one day in class. It’s carried over as a game with the guys now.” I shook my head, “You’re an interesting guy, Joe.”

The night went by at the speed of light. The drinks kept coming and the scene around me became dizzy yet more vibrant. My friends and I had spent so much time talking to the guys, and they made me laugh so hard, especially Joe, that I almost threw up from laughing several times. The music paused as the bartender announced it was time for the last call. My friends and I began preparing to leave. Karina and Alex were clearly exchanging contact information with the other guys. Joe opened his phone and set up a new contact profile, “Would it be okay if I got your number? I don’t know about you, but I definitely don’t want this to be the last time I see you,” I looked up at him with a smile, “Of course! That sounds great.” When I finished entering my information, I said goodbye to everyone. Joe’s hug was so warm and comforting, and I couldn’t help but look back at him one more time as I walked away. Those shared laughs and blue eyes left me to have content and comfortable sleep that night. My first night in New York turned out to be even better than I had expected. I couldn’t wait to see where the trip took us.


	2. Empire State of Mind

My phone rang, waking me and my friends up from our sleep. I rubbed my eyes to see that it was Joseph fucking Gatto calling. I’m not a morning person, but the sight of his name woke me up quickly. “Hello...” the grogginess in my voice shocked even me.

“Well, good morning to you too, miss sunshine.

“Hahaha shut up. How can I help you, Mr. Gatto?”

“What are you and the girls up to today?”

“We are going to the Empire State Building and then doing some shopping.”

“Mind if the boys and I join you?”

“Sure! Come along. We’ll be ready in like an hour”

Alex gave me a disgusted face, “Um, two hours.” I shook my head and smiled

“Make that two hours, Joe.”

“We’ll come to your hotel in a couple of hours, and we can all leave together.”

“Sounds good! See you soon!”

As I started getting ready, I became more and more nervous by the minute. My sweat broke through my foundation on my upper lip and chin. My heart was tight and the nerves at the tips of my fingers were pinging. As I was approaching the last ten minutes of getting ready, all of our phones went off telling us that the guys were here. Alex and I needed some time, as usual. “Hurry up you WHORES,” Karina yelled. We rushed downstairs as soon as we finished.

My eyes went straight to Joe. He was dressed in a white puffer jacket and a teal shirt that made his eyes look like the sun reflecting off of the ocean. His hands were resting in his pockets as he laughed at something Q was saying to him. We walked out the doors to greet the boys, and a bright smile took over Joe’s face. I said my hellos and saved the best for last. Joe’s hug was warm and comfortable. He looked at me and chuckled, “Your lip’s sweatin’, hun.” That deep Staten Island accent weakened me. “Yea, and so is yours.” We both wiped each other’s off at the same time. “Come on lovebirds, we gotta go,” Sal smirked at us. Joe’s embarrassment was visibly displayed by the red color flowing through his cheeks.

I sat in between Joe and Q way in the back. Q’s Superman shirt prompted a conversation about comic book heroes between us. This led to a debate on if Iron Man or Superman was the more powerful hero. We were interrupted by Sal and Alex who started to sing Empire State of Mind which just happened to come on the radio. The driver turned up the volume and the whole car found themselves singing along.

Joe refused to let me pay for my admission ticket. I read the ticket and realized it was the premium one, which included the very top deck. We all went to the main deck together first. The view was breathtaking. Karina, Alex, and I took numerous pictures, as tourists do. By the time we had gotten up there, the skyline began to dim slowly, allowing the lights peeking through the windows of the buildings to be highlighted. Joe had his arm around me as we were silently taking in the view. He turned to the person next to us and said, “I love New York titty, beautiful titty,” with a foreign-sounding accent. My eyes widened and looked over to him and the person he was talking to. She began to chuckle as soon as we made eye contact. I looked back at Joe, and he gave me a mischievous smirk. “You wanna head to the top deck?” he asked. “Sure!” He informed Murr where we were going and that we would be back. Murr winked at him and whispered, “Behave tiger.” To which Joe responded, “You’re so white.”

When Joe and I reached the top floor, I was overwhelmed with how incredible the view was. The main deck was beautiful, and I didn’t think it could get better than this. The sun had lowered even more, leaving slight tones of pink and orange to spread throughout the clouds in the sky. As we made our way over to the best view spots, I got Joe’s attention and placed my nose on the first stranger in sight. Joe’s piercing blue eyes twinkled and widened. He giggled and placed a soft kiss on my forehead. We finally made it to the edge to enjoy a full, unobstructed view of the city that never sleeps. Joe hugged me from behind as I took as many pictures as possible. We started talking about our shared love for photography. We took the opportunity to take as many pictures together as possible. Joe’s left arm rested against the wall, and his right leg crossed behind his left as he gazed into the distance. As the sun set further, the golden lights reflected in his eyes. I took a minute to stare and appreciate the detail and emotion that his eyes portrayed. Joe caught my stare and responded with a side smile. He grabbed both my hands with his, leaned in, and gently pressed his lips against mine. I felt a million tingles throughout my heart and my gut. Our eyes met as we pulled away, and we both smiled. “Shall we head back to our friends?” Joe nodded, and we were off to link up with the group.

After our time at the Empire State Building, the girls and I were craving hookah and good food. We had no time to go shopping, so we decided to call it and look for a lounge. We found a place called Pergola and decided to go. The place was dark with dim lighting, the food was plated to an almost gourmet standard, and the cocktails looked nothing short of refreshing. The aroma of fruity tobacco and smoky air filled the room. We spent the night telling stories as we enjoyed the food, drinks, and hookah together. The guys messed with the waiters a lot. It was definitely a mistake for Sal and Alex to sit on the edge of the couch, because every time something hilarious happened, they’d find themselves crying on the floor. We ended up spending almost 5 hours together, which went by as quickly as 2 hours.

The boys were kind enough to take a taxi with us to our hotel to make sure we arrived safely. Joe got out and helped me out of the taxi.

“How many days do you have left here?”

“We have three more nights.”

“Well, I at least want to take you to that cannoli place before you leave.”

“Don’t worry, I will make sure we have more time together.”

Joe and I realized we were pretty much alone in that moment. I put my arms around his neck as he pulled my waist in and kissed me. My hands moved to cup his cheeks as we continued to lock lips. He lifted me up for a minute causing me to let out a yelp and a chuckle. He gently put me down and gave me one last kiss. “Goodnight, Nicole. Text me when you’re in your room,” he said with a shy smile. “I will, and text me when you’re home. Goodnight, Joe.”


End file.
